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Happy Sunday
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Monthly Archives: January 2021
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Remembering History: Prohibition Ratified
On 16 January 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was formally ratified. Under the 18th Amendment, the manufacture and distribution of alcohol in the United States (outside of industrial and sacramental use) was prohibited beginning a year later on 17 January 1920. Congress passed the Volstead Act to provide teeth to the law by allowing for enforcement of this law by the federal government, specifically a special unit of the Treasury Department. President Wilson vetoed the Volstead Act but overrode by Congress.
In the 19th century, temperance movements arose to address the growing problem of families being damaged when a husband or relative became addicted to alcohol. Also it was a means of curtailing acts of public drunkenness and related problems with people gathering to drink (gambling, prostitution etc.) The movement, religiously based in many cases, gathered steam and became a political one where it campaigned the state level for abstinence laws. In December 1917 Congress passed the amendment and sent it to the states for ratification.
All but two states ratified, a few after it had met the requisite number needed to amend the Constitution. Connecticut and Rhode Island were the two that rejected the amendment. Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin all ratified after 17 Jan 1919.
Aftermath
Enforcement at national and state levels became an issue right away. Neither Canada or Mexico were dry and illegal importation was an issue. Also with Cuba 90 miles away from Florida, it would provide another avenue for rum and other alcohols to be smuggled in. Breweries switched to making non-alcoholic beverages during this time. Wineries could only produce wine for sacramental (religious use), so they too had to turn to things like grape juice or apple cider. The law was not popular in a lot of cities, resulting in the rise of illegal places (called speakeasies) where you could drink alcohol.
To meet this need, many organized crime syndicates and gangs would supply the alcohol either by owning their own breweries and/or smuggling it in from outside the country. These crime syndicates would become enormously wealthy and corrupt local governments (police, politicians, judges) in order to stay in business. Competing gangs would sometimes duke it out on the streets leaving bodies of their enemies (and sometimes the innocent as well). Chicago became particularly notorious, both for its gangs and the depth of corruption. This prompted the federal government to target the Chicago Gang run by Al Capone. While they would raid his operations (done by the famous Elliott Ness), the financial investigation would lead to a successful conviction of tax fraud.
By the end of the decade, support for Prohibition had ebbed considerably. The rise of the organized crime, the fact many flouted the laws in large and small ways, and the difficulties encountered in enforcing the law all led to is eventual demise. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, many argued the alcohol industry could provide jobs. Franklin Roosevelt added it to his campaign plank in 1932. In 1933, the U.S. Congress passed the 21st Amendment to repeal the 18th (the first such Amendment to do this) which was swiftly passed by most states. A few remained dry (under the provisions of the 21st Amendment, a state could decide to stay dry) after that but today states no longer ban its sale. There are still some counties that are dry, including the one where the Jim Beam distillery is located in Kentucky.
Sources:
- This Day in History (History.com)
- Eighteenth Amendment (Britannica.com)
- Eighteenth Amendment (constitution.congress.gov)
Titanic Exhibition Coming to Idaho Discovery Center
Public Domain (Wikimedia)
Discovery Center Of Idaho To Welcome Titanic Exhibition (Idahonews.com, 14 Jan 2021)
The Discovery Center of Idaho will welcome the arrival of the world-class exhibit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition on Feb. 15. “Interest in Titanic has endured for generations. In part, because of the sheer size and magnificence of this “unsinkable” ship,” said Eric Miller, Executive Director for Discovery Center of Idaho. “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, tells the stories of those on board Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage and includes real pieces from the shipwreck, retrieved from a depth of nearly two and a half miles. We are thrilled to be bringing this unforgettable experience to Idaho.”
Update:Plans to Retrieve Marconi Radio in Jeopardy
It appears plans to retrieve the Marconi wireless radio from Titanic are in jeopardy. Due to Covid-19 closing many of their exhibitions (and only a few open with limited availability), income for Premier Exhibitions has dropped significantly. Premier has already missed a required court deadline about submitting costs for the proposed salvage.
Pandemic Has Imperiled Plans To Retrieve Titanic’s Radio (ABC News, 12 Jan 2021)
The company, RMS Titanic Inc., said Monday that its revenues plummeted after coronavirus restrictions closed its exhibits of Titanic artifacts, causing the firm to seek funding through its parent company. Some of the exhibitions, which are scattered across the country, are still closed, while others that have reopened are seeing limited attendance. RMS Titanic Inc. recently missed a deadline with a federal admiralty court in Virginia to submit a funding plan for the radio expedition. The company left open the possibility that it may no longer seek the court’s approval for the undertaking if a plan isn’t submitted in the coming weeks.
Food Served In First Class on Titanic
Photo: AP
First class passengers aboard Titanic ate very well (so did second and third comparatively speaking). Nothing was spared for those who paid the big money. And the food the upper class ate was very different from what we call today fine dining. The terms supper and dinner had a different meaning as well. Dinner was a formal meal and most often at night, while supper was a less formal meal often eaten by workers and others. Lunch and dinner for first class passengers on Titanic were formal with foods not served in less formal settings.
Mental Floss recently took a look at the menus and found some interesting things, most of which are not eaten much today (or have been reconfigured). It should be remembered that dinner back then was a 10 course meal in first class. That was a lot of food to consume! However, eating was not rushed and there were pauses between each meal course. Still for the amount of food served it seems enormous today. Only on special holiday feasts does one have multiple dishes of food served.
Items on the menu included:
Egg à l’Argenteuil
This was a luncheon dish with fancy title but really was scrambled eggs with asperagus. There are many variations of it today. An Italian version, Frittata di Asparagi e Uova, can be found here.
Chicken À La Maryland
This dish was also served for lunch. It was breaded fried chicken with gravy and garnished with bananas. Back then, bananas were considered a luxury and expensive. It became popular in Baltimore since they imported the fruit. This recipe remained popular and the famous Auguste Escoffier put it into his recipe book. A current version can be found here.
Roasted Squab and Cress
For dinner, you could have this entrée which was as the name indicates: a roasted pigeon with cress. Squad was actually considered a pretty delicious meat (note these are raised pigeons bred for the table, not the common pigeon you see in parks). If you want to get a sense of what it was like, take a look at the recipe at Downton Abbey Cooks.
Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly
This was dessert and often served last. Most comments I found indicate that it does work well. Back then gelatin was very labor intensive to make, so making for a dessert was a special treat. Downton Abbey Cooks also has a recipe for it as well. Today with instant gelatin packs, a bit easier to prepare.
Source:
Michele Debczak, 11 Jan 2021
11 Items From ‘Titanic’s’ Final Menus, Retrieved 9 Jan 2023
Ryerson Mansion Now Condominums For Sale
Image: Chicagoarchitecture.org
Emily Ryerson, whose husband Arthur perished when Titanic sank in 1912, had a large mansion built for her and family over 100 years ago. Built in Lincoln Park area of Chicago, it was designed by Henry Dangler and David Adler who designed a series of homes in that area in 1915. According to a site history:
Architects Henry C. Dangler and David Adler designed the row of fine Georgian-style homes as a creative social community for friends who were both artists and notable figures in Chicago society. Each row home would be an independent residence but would also enjoy benefits common to the high-class apartment towers then being built along the lakefront. Together the homes would be heated by a central facility and a proposed garage would accommodate each owner’s automobile.
Construction began in 1915 and done by 1917. She would remarry in 1927 to William Forsythe Sherfese, the Forestry Advisor to the Chinese Government. The house at 2700 Lakeview was sold in 1930. Nearly all the original inhabitants of the block of houses sold and moved away. The Ryerson home would change hands and in 1946 the last occupant was moved out. It remained uninhabited since then. The mansion was bought in 2017. Other mansions in the area have been considered for purchase and renovation but the sticking point is not only the costs but whether there is a market.
In the case of the Ryerson house, the renovations are complete and they are marketing two condos for sale at this time. You just need $5.4 million and it is all yours.
Sources:
Landmark Designation Report- Lakeview Avenue House District
City of Chicago, 2016
Titanic Survivor’s Mansion Will Become Residential Once Again (Chicagobusiness.com, 11 April 2017)
Happy Sunday
Friday Titanic News
Photo:Public Domain (US Library of Congress, digital id# cph 3c21013)
Titanic’: Who Was the Real “Molly Brown”? (MSN, 7 Jan 2021
James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film Titanic was noted at the time for its historical accuracy. The filmmaker for example included many of the real-life passengers in the telling of his story. Probably the most famous first-class passenger of the real Titanic that was featured in the movie was Margaret “Molly” Brown.
Items from the estate of Jack Warner and the passenger ship Carpathia will be in Ahlers & Ogletree’s Jan. 15-17 auction -Press Release-(WICZ, 7 Jan 2021)
The objects from the RMS Carpathia are historically significant and Ahlers & Ogletree is honored to be selling them. All items come with a conservation/condition report and a certificate of authenticity. Collectors of ocean liner memorabilia will be drawn to these:
- Pair of binoculars with glass lenses, unmarked, 3 ¾ inches wide (est. $500-$700).
- Brass ship’s bridge engine order telegraph on a base, likely made by A. Robinson & Co., Ltd. (Liverpool England, founded 1760), 48 inches tall (est. $500-$700).
- First class Mintons ‘Ormond’ pattern blue and white floral partial pottery saucer with Cunard Line logo, stamped to bottom, 6 ½ inches diameter (est. $300-$500).
- Pepsi-Cola bottle, molded colorless glass with swirled body, the front having raised letters reading “Pepsi-Cola”, a little over 6 ½ inches tall (est. $200-$400).
Does Google Earth Reveal a Sunken Ship in a Japanese Port? (Snopes.com, 28 Dec 2020)
Contrary to TikTok shenanigans, the boat is neither the RMS Titanic nor the Ottoman frigate Ertu?rul that is sometimes referred to as “the Titanic of Turkey.”
And here is some music for your Friday. Dean Martin sings Luna Mezzo Mare. If you watched The Godfather, this was sung in the wedding scene. It is a fun song to listen to (there are many places on the Internet to get the lyrics). When I first heard, I had no idea why everyone around me was laughing. Then I was told the lyrics and laughed as well.
Historic Ship News-Community Fights To Keep Titanic Era Steamship
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Public Domain (via Wikipedia)
Georgian Bay Community Fights To Keep Its Titanic-Era Steamship (Toronto Star, 6 Jan 2021)
When the historic passenger vessel S.S. Keewatin first went through the Welland Canal, it had to be cut in half. The 106-metre-long ship was too long to fit into the lift locks of the canal in 1907 when it was on its way to Owen Sound from its birthplace in Glasgow’s River Clyde to start a 60-year career as a Great Lakes passenger vessel for Canadian Pacific Railway Upper Lake Service. Now, more than 9,000 people in this Georgian Bay port have signed a petition asking the federal government to prevent Keewatin from taking a second cruise on the Welland Canal. They want the vessel to remain as a museum destination here, rather than as a museum destination at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes on the Kingston waterfront.
For further information:
S.S. Kewatin-Official website for the ship
Titanic News: Fact and Fiction in Cameron’s Titanic and Sultana Museum Seeks To Expand
Titanic True Story: How Much Of The Movie Is Real ( ScreenRant, 2 Jan 2021)
Although Titanic is based on the real-life sinking of the ship and even added some real-life characters, not everything in the movie actually happened, and Cameron had to either change, add, or embellish some details to fit the story he wanted to tell. Here’s how much of James Cameron’s Titanic is real.
Photo: Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress, digital id#cph.3a48909)
Plans Afoot To Secure More Space To Relate Sultana’s Tragic Story (Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 3 Jan 2021)
The Sultana, with a legal capacity of 376, was overloaded with Union soldiers recently freed from Confederate prisons in Alabama and Georgia. They were trying to get home to the Midwest after a long march to Vicksburg to board the ship. About 1,400 people died in the disaster, said Louis Intres, a retired history professor from Arkansas State University. “We know over 2,200 were aboard the steamboat,” Intres said. By comparison, about 1,500 people died on the Titanic, a British ocean liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. Intres said the Sultana was about 1/14th the size of the Titanic.
